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Large- and small-scale environmental factors drive distributions of cool-adapted plants in karstic microrefugia
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Oxford University Press, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Background and aims: Dolines are small- to large-sized bowl-shaped depressions of karst surfaces. They may constitute important microrefugia, as thermal inversion often maintains cooler conditions within them. This study aimed to identify the effects of large- (macroclimate) and small-scale (slope aspect and vegetation type) environmental factors on cool-adapted plants in karst dolines of East-Central Europe. We also evaluated the potential of these dolines to be microrefugia that mitigate the effects of climate change on cool-adapted plants in both forest and grassland ecosystems. • Methods: We compared surveys of plant species composition that were made between 2007 and 2015 in 21 dolines distributed across four mountain ranges (sites) in Hungary and Romania. We examined the effects of environmental factors on the distribution and number of cool-adapted plants on three scales: (1) regional (all sites); (2) within sites and; (3) within dolines. Generalized linear models and non-parametric tests were used for the analyses. • Key Results: Macroclimate, vegetation type and aspect were all significant predictors of the diversity of cool-adapted plants. More cool-adapted plants were recorded in the coolest site, with only few found in the warmest site. At the warmest site, the distribution of cool-adapted plants was restricted to the deepest parts of dolines. Within sites of intermediate temperature and humidity, the effect of vegetation type and aspect on the diversity of cool-adapted plants was often significant, with more taxa being found in grasslands (versus forests) and on north-facing slopes (versus south-facing slopes). • Conclusions: There is large variation in the number and spatial distribution of cool-adapted plants in karst dolines, which is related to large- and small-scale environmental factors. Both macro- and microrefugia are therefore likely to play important roles in facilitating the persistence of cool-adapted plants under global warming. Refereed/Peer-reviewed
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
environmental gradient
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
karst dolines
migration processes
Climate Change
Climate change
high-mountain plants
Plant Science
Biology
Spatial distribution
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
refugia
Effects of global warming
Vegetation type
Ecosystem
relicts
Plant Physiological Phenomena
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Environmental gradient
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
capacity of refugia
Global warming
slope aspect
Original Articles
Karst
Cold Temperature
Refugium
East-Central Europe
Physical geography
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a07fa613103945cfaa0e135869516d62